Food Processing

Former FDA associate commissioner returns from a Shanghai conference with new respect for the changes going on.

In June I had a unique opportunity to attend and speak at a Global Food Safety Summit in Shanghai, China. One of the speakers was the associate commissioner at the Shanghai equivalent of our FDA, and some of the comments he made struck a chord with me.
The food safety laws in China have now been updated for the fourth time. The first laws in their current iterations were published in 1982, and then revised in 1996, 2009 and, most recently, just several weeks ago. The current version of the law will become a requirement on Oct. 1 this year.
I won’t go into details other than to say China is getting really serious about food safety. They have increased the number of items, or sections, in this new food safety law from 104 in the last…

As the trade landscape continues to evolve, food processing companies that import and export goods to and from Canada will encounter important changes. Developments in the mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) and proposed revisions to Canada’s nutritional labeling regulations will likely change the way importers, exporters and customs brokers conduct business.
Country of origin labeling
While the dispute over COOL has been a long-running process, recent developments indicate that U.S. businesses could feel the effects of Canada’s retaliation against COOL as early as September, if the U.S. does not repeal it.
On June 10, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal COOL requirements for beef, pork and chicken, urging the…

A reader wonders which way is more hygienic for applying conveyor lubricant: brush or nozzle?

Q: Which is a more hygienic method of applying conveyor lubricant: by brush or by nozzle?
A. While I am unaware of any specific guidelines from FDA, USDA or the American Meat Institute regarding the application of conveyor lubricants, application via a controlled spray nozzle is much preferable over brush application. A spray nozzle with a properly sized, pre-orifice filter will ensure that only the lubricant will be deposited on the conveyor. Attention should be given to the proper alignment of the nozzle to ensure the spray hits the center on the conveyor and does not over-spray onto the floor, where it can create a safety hazard.
A brush’s materials of construction are susceptible to picking up, harboring and distributing foreign…

The first turkey farms ravaged by the recent bird flu is approaching time to restock, though most of the farms affected are weeks away from introducing new flocks.

One of the first turkey farms in Iowa where bird flu was discovered is quickly approaching the time at which the birds can be restocked, though most of the 77 farms affected are still weeks away from introducing new flocks, says the Iowa Department of Agriculture. Iowa is the country's leading egg producer.
The bird flu outbreak, which began in mid-April, killed 31.5 million chickens and turkeys in the state. An update by officials on the recovery progress indicates that all farms have been cleared of birds. Disposal of manure, compost and other waste continued at 18 farms.
The last reported case of bird flu was four weeks ago. All birds that died or were euthanized have been incinerated, buried or taken to landfills. After barns are…

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on July 24 to ban state laws that force food companies to place labels on products featuring genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Passage of the hotly contested bill, called The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, is a victory for food and chemical manufacturers. The vote passed 275 to 150, with six of Minnesota's eight representatives voting against labeling requirements. Opponents of GMO labeling lost a court battle to stop state labeling laws before turning to congress.
The act would create a federal standard for the voluntary labeling of foods with GMO ingredients.
Vermont, Connecticut and Maine already passed mandatory labeling laws, but the bill's proponents have…

Our sixth annual Green Plant of the Year is now accepting votes for the 'greenest' food manufacturing plant in the United States. You can cast your vote below. The plant with the most votes wins, so share the love online and in social media.
The…

Living up to the hype will be difficult, but infrastructure construction is well under way for the Internet of Things.

As catch phrases go, the Internet of Things has a certain Buck Rogers ring to it. IoT already has trumped Big Data and network connectivity when it comes to capturing people’s imagination.
What's catapulting IoT above the level of hype are the…

A monthly round-up of food and beverage manufacturing equipment chosen by our editors.

Safety Gate Offers Workers Protection from Falls
The Mezzanine Clear Height Safety Gate is engineered to protect workers from falls on elevated mezzanine loading areas. In addition, it does not have load height restrictions so it can accommodate…

Trends in breakfast foods are more of the same: hand-held, portable, healthful choices. Yet in the rush of in a morning routine, nutrition is as important as convenience.

The best way to start the day is with a healthy breakfast. But these days, convenience is king in the early part of the day. We're rushing around in the morning more, so everything in a breakfast meal -- if you can call it that any more -- needs to…

As consumer concern for healthy eating escalates, so does the interest in natural and artisanal foods. Artisans can keep traditions alive by going beyond the mass-produced norm with the best ingredients and old-world methods to create foods with flair.

No question, artisan foods are popular. From the increase in small, niche names in specialty shops to big, iconic brands on supermarket shelves and the surge of food prep-at-home delivery businesses, artisan food companies seem to be thriving. All…

The school lunch program needs government renewal; should it get tougher or more lax nutritional standards?

One of the battles brewing in Washington these days is a debate over reauthorization of the National School Lunch Program. The current incarnation, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA), which will expire on Sept. 30, attempted to force…

Trends in breakfast foods are more of the same: hand-held, portable, healthful choices. Yet in the rush of in a morning routine, nutrition is as important as convenience.

The best way to start the day is with a healthy breakfast. But these days, convenience is king in the early part of the day. We're rushing around in the morning more, so everything in a breakfast meal -- if you can call it that any more -- needs to…

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on July 24 to ban state laws that force food companies to place labels on products featuring genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Passage of the hotly contested bill, called The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, is a victory for food and chemical manufacturers. The vote passed 275 to 150, with six of Minnesota's eight representatives voting against labeling requirements. Opponents of GMO labeling lost a court battle to stop state labeling laws before turning to congress.
The act would create a federal standard for the voluntary labeling of foods with GMO ingredients.
Vermont, Connecticut and Maine already passed mandatory labeling laws, but the bill's proponents have…

Mondelēz International, Inc., Deerfield, Ill., and D.E Master Blenders 1753 B.V. , Amsterdam, have completed their move to combine their respective coffee businesses, including Mondelēz International's coffee portfolio in France, to create Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), which will become the world's leading pure-play coffee company with annual revenues of more than $5.5 billion.
Mondelez received a 44 percent interest in the new joint venture upon closing of the deal and approximately $4.2 billion. Acorn Holdings B.V., which owns D.E. Master Blenders 1753, will have a 56-ercent share in JDE.
Mondelez reports that the new company will be headquartered in the Netherlands and have market-leading positions in 18 countries globally, along with a…

The marketing textbook teaches us to follow the early buyers; but are they leaders or misleaders?

Does anyone besides me think the new product curve might be someone's imagination, at least as it pertains to food? I have mentioned this to brand managers in the past, but they all seem to think that their MBA marketing textbook is equivalent to the Bible or the Koran. It must be true because it says so in my textbook. Everett Rogers introduced the concept in 1962 and everyone followed suit.
Is it possible that this concept of innovators, early adopters, late adopters, etc., is really just nonsense? Is it possible that there is just a group of people who are first buyers and they bounce around from one category to another trying new things and giving the impression that the product will be a success. Could it be that no one really follows…

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on July 24 to ban state laws that force food companies to place labels on products featuring genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Passage of the hotly contested bill, called The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, is a victory for food and chemical manufacturers. The vote passed 275 to 150, with six of Minnesota's eight representatives voting against labeling requirements. Opponents of GMO labeling lost a court battle to stop state labeling laws before turning to congress.
The act would create a federal standard for the voluntary labeling of foods with GMO ingredients.
Vermont, Connecticut and Maine already passed mandatory labeling laws, but the bill's proponents have…

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on July 24 to ban state laws that force food companies to place labels on products featuring genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Passage of the hotly contested bill, called The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, is a victory for food and chemical manufacturers. The vote passed 275 to 150, with six of Minnesota's eight representatives voting against labeling requirements. Opponents of GMO labeling lost a court battle to stop state labeling laws before turning to congress.
The act would create a federal standard for the voluntary labeling of foods with GMO ingredients.
Vermont, Connecticut and Maine already passed mandatory labeling laws, but the bill's proponents have…

Unmanned aerial vehicles will be used to monitor suppliers, other forest land that needs to be protected.

Drones, very much in the news lately, are being employed in a new cold war – the war on deforestation and non-sustainable palm oil.
Cargill Inc., in an April update to its palm oil sustainability report, notes it is prepared to launch drone aircraft in Malaysia, the world's second-biggest grower of oil palms. "Our project with unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) is moving into the operational phase. A Cargill team is set to start flight training in Malaysia. They will soon graduate as certified UAV pilots.
"With the UAVs, we are pushing the envelope in sustainability," the report continues. "They will help us map and monitor valuable pieces of forest land that need to be protected, and improve land and water use, so that we can grow more…

As the trade landscape continues to evolve, food processing companies that import and export goods to and from Canada will encounter important changes. Developments in the mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) and proposed revisions to Canada’s nutritional labeling regulations will likely change the way importers, exporters and customs brokers conduct business.
Country of origin labeling
While the dispute over COOL has been a long-running process, recent developments indicate that U.S. businesses could feel the effects of Canada’s retaliation against COOL as early as September, if the U.S. does not repeal it.
On June 10, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal COOL requirements for beef, pork and chicken, urging the…

More work needs to be done to attract millennials to your food and your plants.

I think our cover nicely illustrates an issue all food and beverage companies already are dealing with that’s only going to get worse: the attraction of good, young talent in an age when pure technology is hotter. Maybe what it doesn’t show is the attendant problem that millennials – and that’s the age group we’re talking about – have probably the lowest perception of the food and beverage industry than any previous generation.
These problems are interconnected. As much, if not more, effort should be expended at solving the second issue as the first – if only because these millennials also are the next great demographic of consumers, and with each tick of the clock they are growing larger than the baby boomer generation.

The acquisition is expected to boost 2015 sales to more than $500 million.

Memphis-based Monogram Foods has completed the acquisition of Golden County Foods, a Plover, Wis., manufacturer of frozen appetizers that entered into Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in May.
The bankruptcy court accepted Monogram’s bid of $37.2 million for Golden County’s assets, which include two facilities in Plover.
Founded in 1991 and owned by GCF Holdings II, the maker of cheese-based appetizers and snacks continued operating after its May 18 bankruptcy filing. Golden County had annual sales of about $100 million.
Monogram CEO Karl Schledwitz announced the hiring of 50 more workers in Plover, which would boost staffing to 600. Monogram employees 2,000 workers in five states. The acquisition is expected to boost 2015 sales to…

Sales of organic food and non-food products in the U.S. grew 11.3 percent in 2014 over the previous year, totaling $39.1 billion, according to the latest survey from the Organic Trade Assn. (OTA).
Despite the industry struggling with tight supplies of organic ingredients, organic food sales grew 11 percent in 2014, to $35.9 billion, while organic non-food sales, at $3.2 billion, jumped almost 14 percent for the biggest annual increase in six years.
The majority of American households in all regions of the country now make organic a part of their supermarket and retail purchases – from 68 to almost 80 percent of households in southern states, to nearly 90 percent on the West Coast and in New England, according to OTA.
OTA’s Organic…

Mars Chocolate North America says it will invest an additional $100-million in its Topeka, Kan., facility, breaking ground on a 90,000-sq.-ft. facility there.

Mars Chocolate North America disclosed on July 16 that it will invest an additional $100-million in its Topeka, Kan., facility, breaking ground on a state-of-the-art, 90,000-sq.-ft. facility there. As part of the expansion, Mars will create 70 new, full-time, permanent, high-wage manufacturing jobs.
The move comes just more than a year after the New Jersey-based company opened its $270-million plant south of the city. "For over a century, Mars has been committed to making our products in the markets where we sell them," states Tracey Massey, president of Mars Chocolate North America. "We are grateful for the warm welcome and continued support we have received from Topeka and the state of Kansas, and we are pleased to further invest in the…

Trends in breakfast foods are more of the same: hand-held, portable, healthful choices. Yet in the rush of in a morning routine, nutrition is as important as convenience.

The best way to start the day is with a healthy breakfast. But these days, convenience is king in the early part of the day. We're rushing around in the morning more, so everything in a breakfast meal -- if you can call it that any more -- needs to…

Our 44th annual R&D Survey indicates a year of regulatory challenges but less emphasis on cost control.

Sometimes we worry that we write too much about genetically engineered ingredients (GMOs) and regulatory issues, especially for you folks in product development. But the two subjects seem to be coming up a lot lately, with the latter concern…

General Mills plans to introduce a gluten-free version of Lucky Charms later this summer

With sales of gluten-free foods doubling in the past four years to more than $23 billion from $11.5 billion (according to Nielsen), General Mills, Minneapolis, wants in on the action to boost slumping cereal sales. It plans to produce a gluten-free version of Lucky Charms later this summer. The news about the "Magically Delicious" but gluten-free marshmallow-spiked cereal is only a part of the company's extensive $712-million capital investment in its food-manufacturing business, which also includes adding gluten-free versions to five of its Cheerios varieties some time this summer.
Last month, the company announced that it will remove artificial flavors and colors from the remaining 40 percent of its cereals that still contain…

Instead of a renaissance of two venerable firms, this will be a race to the bottom (line).

I was sad enough back in early 2013 when I heard about two investment firms taking Heinz Co. private. Now I’m distraught that Heinz is merging with Kraft. Or, as I recently said to a coworker: taking Kraft down with it.
Let’s face it: This merger is not about creating exciting new products, funding the R&D needed to get into novel growth categories or even about rejuvenating old but solid brands and products. It’s not about investing in and nurturing up-and-coming companies that have the Next Big Thing.
It’s about subtraction by addition: seeing how many plants can be shut down, how many people laid off and how many brands sold off to make the investors even richer than they are. And most of those investors are from Brazil, not…

This year's list of the top food and beverage companies has been altered mostly by domestic buying.

Whereas 2013 saw several U.S. firms undertake acquisitions across the globe – and one mega deal that made a U.S. firm owned by the Chinese – part of last year and the first half of 2014 seem to be playing out as a time of renewed interest in…

With 322 total mergers and acquisitions recorded in 2010, the food and beverage industry is seeing the highest M&A figure since 2008, and about even with the 2005 figure.

The year 2010 began and ended with blockbuster deals.
Kraft Foods Inc. engineered the two biggest mergers and acquisitions of 2010: acquiring Cadbury Plc (in a drama that played out through most of 2009), then helping to pay for that $19.4 billion purchase by selling its pizza business to Nestle SA for $3.7 billion. Both those sales closed in January of 2010.
February saw suddenly acquisitive Diamond Foods get chip maker Kettle Foods, and Sunsweet acquire Herbal Water, maker of Ayala’s Herbal Water.
Last summer, Snyder’s of Hanover Inc. merged with Lance Inc. Seneca Foods Corp. bought Unilink LLC and Lebanon Valley Cold Storage LP, both makers of frozen fruits and vegetables.
In the fall, Ralcorp Holdings bought American Italian Pasta…

The Food Processing Top 100 list of food and beverage manufacturers is now available in an interactive format.

Starting this year, the Food Processing Top 100 list of food and beverage manufacturers will be available as an interactive, fully-sortable grid on http://www.foodprocessing.com/top100.
All 100 company names, rankings, food sales and company sales will be sortable in ascending or descending order. The sorting function is controlled by clicking the up or down arrow as shown in the image below.
Another added benefit to the interactive list is the introduction of individual profiles for each of the top 100 companies. Each profile contains information such as address, websites, brands or products, executives and much more. You can access the individual company profiles by clicking on the company name in the grid.

The 2008 top 100 food and beverage processing companies in the U.S. and Canada are profiled in this annual feature. Find company contact information, major brands, key executives and main product areas.

The 2007 top 100 food and beverage processing companies in the U.S. and Canada are profiled in this annual feature. Find company contact information, major brands, key executives and main product areas.

Trend Watch 2010: Food Trends

A few more nitty-gritty consumer trends and trendlets to watch in the new year.

Trend watching, just like your personal resolutions, takes on new significance at the end of one year and the start of another to make sure your company ship is headed in the right direction. Here is my second installment of trends and trendlets, especially from the consumer perspective, to look out for in 2010. (See the first installment, Trend Watch: Food Trends to Watch in 2010)

Less is More Desirable -- Consumers yearning for simplicity don’t want to use a dictionary when they check a food label. Fewer ingredients reassure them of the purity of the food and sends signals that the food is healthier and safer. Simplicity is a continuing trend. From 2005 to 2008, there was a 65 percent increase in new products using the words “simple” or “simply” in the product or brand name, according to Datamonitor, New York.

Fewer health claims on a package are better; it’s less confusing. Concentrate on the ultimate benefit – taste and heart health. Included in this trend is “free from” – allergen-free, salt-free, sugar-free, preservative-free. Now if only we could get those products for free.

Authentic and natural products continue to resonate, although they have to be affordable. Meanwhile, organic seems to have stalemated due to pricing and critical reporting on whether those foods are any healthier than non-organics. Products made in the U.S. by American-based companies also resonate well, as a back-to-basics trust mentality becomes more entrenched.

Healthy Is as Healthy Does – Consumers do want to eat more healthily, but are more skeptical of health claims, functional foods and vitamins in products not inherently healthy. It’s going to be a real challenge for manufacturers, as the FDA scrutinizes health claims. However, adding nuts of all types, vegetables, grains, live probiotics and fruits to products brings them up a notch in consumers’ minds and toward the naturally good-for-you trend.

Some 20 percent of the population is 55 or older, and they seek healthier ingredient profiles. Looking for the fountain of youth will continue to grow as a trend for aging baby boomers, and food and beverages that can latch onto those youthful energy and beauty benefits should do quite nicely. Immunity-enhancing and antioxidant-rich products are golden, as consumers do believe in those benefits.

Assemblage and Nukability -- The economic downturn can be blamed for a number of lifestyle changes, but causing Americans to cook more is not one of them, according to the 24th annual report on “Eating Patterns in America,” recently released by The NPD Group. Americans are eating at home more, and have been since the beginning of the decade, but last year they turned to their microwaves.

“Microwaving has been flat for two decades, but it increased last year as Americans found a way to eat at home and not cook,” says Harry Balzer, NPD’s chief industry analyst. “We’re using our microwaves to warm and heat more, but not prepare more dishes from scratch.” It is notable that approximately 20 percent of all meals prepared in U.S. homes from 1990-2007 involved the use of a microwave, until last year when usage rose 10 percent.

Balzer said stovetops remain the most popular cooking appliance but the percent of main meals prepared on a stovetop dropped from 52 percent in 1985 to 33 percent in 2009. "There was a lot of speculation last year as to how our eating behaviors changed as a result of the economic crisis. The truth is that consumer behavior changes slowly,” says Balzer. “I’ve observed America’s eating patterns in good and bad economies, and the constant is that there is no recession in eating ─ and Americans don’t want to cook what they eat.”

Perimeter Shopping -- What the recession has wrought, among other things, is a transfer of dollars away from dining out toward spending more on prepared meals at retail. A 2009 Nielsen survey for 12 months ending September 2009 finds that 46 percent of American households are eating out less. Perishable departments, those located on the perimeter of your grocery store, were the most productive departments at retail, according to new research from Nielsen. Fresh meat and seafood cooked up sales of $437 per household per year for a 4 percent gain, and produce increased 3 percent based on annual average sales of $279 per household. Deli spend was $200, a 5 percent increase from last year, and Bakery whipped up average annual household sales of $174 per year with a 3 percent increase. Nielsen also found that more than one million viewers watched the Food Network during prime time in 2009 — a 16 percent increase over full-year 2008 -- for inspiration. It should be no surprise that Rachel Ray, whose recipes are simple and inexpensive, is the most popular show host.

New Frugality -- As long as consumers are worried about the economy, price will continue to be an important ingredient in shopping behaviors. Consumers believe name brands are more reliable (37 percent) and are better quality products (39 percent) than store brands, but more than eight of 10 (84 percent) also believe name brands are more expensive. Private label items keep taking share from branded products because they are less expensive, and consumers won’t return to name brands in the foreseeable future, predicts “supermarket guru” Phil Lempert, of the Lempert Report. And now Wal-Mart’s Great Value brand, with its 5,200 SKUs in 100 categories, is the largest grocery brand. If you can’t beat them, join them.

The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research, who are jointly conducting a year-long shopper experience study, say it is inevitable that CPG brands will join forces with private label to co-brand products – for example a Wal-Mart private label macaroni and cheese boasting Kraft cheese.

Sustaining Sustainability -- Entire new industries and technologies unheard of 15 years ago are now regular parts of our lives. One of them is sustainability, the hot button for food and beverage manufacturers along with corporate responsibility. Fair trade and locally sourced products fit into this trend.

Eco-aware consumers are beginning to focus on carbon footprint, or how much energy is used to get the food to them. An estimated 25 percent of emissions produced by people living in industrialized countries can be traced to the food they eat, and foods vary enormously in the emissions released in their production.

European consumers tend to be greener than those in the U.S., and are more label-conscious. One interesting trendlet is that Sweden is experimenting with new food labels that list the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the production of the food — both packaged foods and restaurant meals. However, watch out for Eco Fatigue. As consumers are besieged with green messaging, over-the-top sustainability claims (known as greenwashing), the complexity of the subject, higher cost of green products and the idea that they can never do enough to make a difference, some are simply tuning out.

ocial and Antisocial Networking -- Want to connect with mom? Social networks are visited by 75 percent of women, and those with children at home are more likely to use Facebook (60.3 percent), MySpace (42.4 percent) and Twitter (16.5 percent) than average adults, and 15.3 percent maintain their own blog, according a new Retail Advertising and Marketing Assn. survey conducted by BIGresearch.

Not surprisingly, moms frequently share experiences and information, and they say other peoples’ opinions influence their purchases. Nine out of 10 (93.6 percent) mothers regularly or occasionally seek the advice of others before buying a service or product, according to the survey. Additionally, a staggering 97.2 percent said they give advice to others about those products or services they purchased. “Quite frankly, moms like to talk,” says Phil Rist, executive vice president of strategic initiatives at BIGresearch.

“Whether they’re having coffee with a friend or updating their Facebook status, these women are eager to share shopping experiences, both good and bad.”

While bad reviews can certainly hurt a brand, only 2 percent of consumers who use social media said they use the sites regularly for guidance on grocery purchase decisions, according to Menlo Park, Calif.-based Knowledge Networks. Although 83 percent of people aged 13-54 participate in social media, fewer than 5 percent of them turn to those sites for guidance on purchase decisions. “Our findings show that marketers need to be prudent and people-centric in how they approach social media,” says David Tice, vice president and group account director for Knowledge Networks. “Social media users do not have a strong association between these sites and purchase decisions — they see them as being more about personal connection — so finding ways to embrace that powerful function is key.”

Multitasking Mania -- Between the blare of the TV, the ring of the phone and Junior texting his buddies under the table or from the couch, dinnertime in America comes with a heaping helping of distracting bells and whistles, a recent Associated Press-iVillage Food poll found. Altogether, more than 60 percent of those who live with families said they sat down with family for dinner at least five nights in the past week. Television is a constant dinner companion for 25 percent of families, and nearly 40 percent have the radio or stereo going, at least occasionally. Half are pestered by phone calls, and texting or e-mailing on a cell phone is always going on over dinner for 5 percent of families.Add to all those distractions the trend for snacking several times a day rather eating full meals. As a result, any food consumers can hold with one hand so they can wolf down breakfast or lunch in the office, car or while on the phone adds to the convenience.

Just Chill – Each trend has its opposite. Last year, we saw a proliferation of energy beverages and energy bars for exhausted, overworked Americans. While the energy trend should continue, the FDA recently notified nearly 30 manufacturers of caffeinated alcoholic beverages that it intends to look into the safety of their products and whether caffeine can lawfully be added to alcoholic beverages – that’s a favorite combination of 26 percent of college students. An opposing option is beginning to dribble into stores – foods and beverages for relaxation. RelaxZen, I Chill, ViB (Vacation in a Bottle), Drank, Purple Stuff, Gatorade Tiger Focus and Tranquila have all debuted recently to relax overwrought consumers.

Koodies are Here – Kid foodies or koodies are the new kid in town, according to the Lempert Report. This kid wants sushi, pad Thai, or smoked salmon in his Happy Meal, and although these foods may not be on kids’ menu options yet, America is beginning to see a more sophisticated and adventurous palate in its children. Our children are our future, and as these new Koodies evolve, look for both CPG brands and restaurants to make their kids' meals more nutritious, more interesting and even a culinary experience. Retailers can use this opportunity to offer in-store tastings for children to try new things, recipe demonstrations that are fun for kids, or parent/child foodie events that encourage family time as well as enjoying food together. Yes, the Koodies are here; they love the Food Channel and want to be chefs. As they mature into adulthood, look for the food world to be led by a new generation that really knows its food and will love to experiment.

Nostalgia Reinvented – As Americans look to simpler times and seek simpler solutions, it makes sense they are nostalgic for their youth, when everything seemed possible. Right now it’s the 1960s, thanks to AMC cable TV channel’s Mad Men. Canada Dry Ginger Ale is an older, established brand that is touting its continuing success, natural ingredients and how it has changed only its marketing and packaging over the years, reinforcing the idea that you can depend on this product.

National Neurosis – In 1987, the year the stock market fell 23 percent on Black Monday, teen vampire film “The Lost Boys” became a cultural phenomenon. Insecurity and the feeling we cannot control our destiny brought about renewed fervor in the past two years in all things otherworldly -- thus the popularity of vampires in True Blood, Twilight and the Vampire Diaries. Ditto for the bewitching Witches of Eastwick. A little more devious are V (extraterrestrial visitors out to destroy us) and Flash Forward (planetary loss of consciousness). Expect more of these signs of neurosis. Reassurance and trust is what we all seek, especially in our food.